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Slice of Life Story Challenge March 3 - Rummaging Through My Poetic Past

I have written previously about the joy of rummaging. Well, today I did some more,- rummaging that is and it paid dividends. It seemed most appropriate on Poetry Friday.

I uncovered a collection of long forgotten poems I wrote many years ago. -More than thirty years ago to be precise. This was my first anthology of poems. All hand written on pieces of card and presented in a spiral bound book format. I recall creating this book primarily for my children and my students at that time. Reconnecting with these early poems again was like seeing ghosts from my past. It was both thrilling and confronting. Confronting because the poems turned out to be much older than I first recollected. It was so good to reconnect and reread those historic words. It was a feeling akin to unearthing a pirate’s treasure. I got such a buzz revisiting work from this earlier phase of my writing life. I now have some new-old poems to reshape and consider. I now present a couple of those previously forgotten poems. The first, ‘When Dad Gets Mad’ is presented in its original form. The second poem, ‘Please Sir’ has been lifted from its original resting place and undergone some revisions in my current writer’s notebook. I am delighted by my discoveries. I am pleased I went rummaging. I recommend it to one and all as a habit worth cultivating.

Original hand written copy of my first anthology of poems

Revised version of Please Sir, taken from my original poetry anthology

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I, too, am a notebooker and I've kept notebooks for more than thirty years. I must go back and mine them for some posts. Thanks for sharing these beautiful poems! Amazing how they stand the test of time.

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'Go to the attic of your mind and rummage around and find something.'Mary Higgins Clark

What excellent advice for those who procrastinate over writing. Remember it is easy to find reasons not to write. What you are seeking is just one good reason to write. For teachers, the answer is -your students!

Rummaging is such a wonderful word. I experience such delight when indulging in a bit of rummaging. It imbues the spirit of discovery, and the potential to uncover unexpected treasure and delight. It may also reveal some thing long since forgotten, something considered lost. The very notion of digging and delving into some mysterious part of your life and its associated belongings create an air of excitement. The act of turning over items or fossicking and rifling through books, journals or collected papers is alive with the prospect of discovery or rediscovery.

I admit to deliberately hiding items inside books (notes, business cards, tickets) in order to enjoy the discover…

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You can order my book on line or simply walk into your local bookstore and ask the kind person serving you to order it in for you. Either way, I hope you enjoy it. May the words reach your poet's heart.Here is a taste, a morsel to whet your appetite for more poetry. Hope you like it. Hope you want more...

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People who write get to live life twice - in the moment and in retrospect. That's what sets writers apart. I rarely go anywhere, or do anything without the shadow of my writing self being part of the adventure. Every experience provides opportunities to harvest writing ideas. It is a lens through which to view the limitless possibilities of the moment. I look forward to your responses,feedback and ideas.